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There’s nothing quite like a lovely testimonial to brighten up my day. 🙂 I’ve been very fortunate to have some really cool students from all walks of life, who allow me to coach them in setting up their blogs and/or websites. And Natalie’s one of them. She’d initially approached me saying she’s a “tech-phobic doctor” but I’ve known all along that just about anyone can learn to get comfortable with WordPress. In the past, I’ve struggled with learning how to blog and trying to set up a website (the horror!) and so I want to take the pain out of the learning for the people I meet. I wished I had a guide back then, but I didn’t, so the best thing for me right now is to condense the years of learning and picking stuff up on my own, and transferring that knowledge to my students in a matter of hours.

In this post, I’ve put together some tips for people who have signed up for classes or coaching regarding blogging or website creation (it doesn’t even have to be with me), so we can all maximize the time spent learning and get the most out of each session:

(1) STRUGGLE BUT DON’T PROCRASTINATE

And don’t simply struggle with the ‘idea’ of creating a blog or website. Actually do something. You might want to start with wordpress.com as it’s free! Natalie spent some years thinking about starting her own site but happily contributed articles to various publications. The number of backlinks she could have gotten is astounding. And if you’re going to invest in a domain name, web hosting, etc, you might also want to invest in hiring a coach to help you get up to speed quickly. There are few things more frustrating than spending money on a site and not knowing how to use it.

(2) MAKE SURE IT’S ALL HANDS-ON LEARNING

Doesn’t matter if you’re learning about Blogging or about Internet Marketing, it has to be hands-on, and you have to be given the opportunity to repeat each step multiple times until you get it. I detest demo-only cooking classes, which I find to be of no use to me. When I get home, I don’t know how to ‘fold the dough’ or judge if it’s of the right consistency. Similarly, if you attend a class, and head home with only a thick manual, of what good will that be? You HAVE TO get your site up and running during the class, not after.

(3) TAKE THE INITIATIVE, DO MORE THAN EXPECTED

Natalie truly impressed me with the prep work she did beforehand, in ensuring she had three drafts so we could post them immediately during the session, after a few tweaks. Because she had done the work, we were able to work on aspects like SEO, photo uploads and (basic) editing, among others.

(4) STAY IN TOUCH, CONTINUE THE LEARNING

Be persistent, not pesky. Stay in touch with your coach or trainer. Email is best so people can reply at their convenience. Phone messaging can get a little intrusive at times. But if you keep in touch, the learning never stops. I’m both a coach and a student. So each time I learn something new, I can pass on the knowledge.

If you need help with a new blog or website, feel free to contact me via the form below:

I’ve received a number of testimonials from former students so I felt this post would be necessary, and a good way to reflect on my blogging journey thus far. When I started blogging in October 2010, there were no books about blogging in the local, Singaporean context, and there were no blogging workshops I could sign up for. Thereafter, I wrote my book ‘Blogging For A Living’ in 2013, and I’ve been sharing the joy of Blogging with students since. And when I say “students”, most of the time I’m referring to working adults, usually older than me. In this particular blogpost, you’ll read the testimonials from my students who come from different occupations: housewife, art teacher, engineer, business owner, etc!

This particular one is an unsolicited email from my student, Alvin:

Sometimes, apart from going into the technical bits of blogging, I do also offer suggestions like a life coach would. If I think a particular book is really awesome for helping someone through a particular phase of life, I give him/her that book. Alvin, like many of my other students, are worried about issues like job security, retrenchments, and what other careers they can pursue. I gave him a book I thought would be most useful. 🙂

I do believe that as much as 90% of the things we want to learn can be found in books already. This is why reading is such an important hobby to cultivate in young children! Besides recommending great books, I do also share tips with my students, such as how I blog while on holiday (and without mobile data). If you’re keen to know, I simply use my phone to snap pictures, and I use the WordPress app on my phone to craft a post and add notes each time I purchase something, savor something yummy or have a traveler tip to share. And throughout the day, I usually won’t have any Internet access. When I’m back in the hotel or hostel, and get connected to wifi, then I hit on ‘Publish’ and the post is uploaded to my blog. 🙂 Doing this is crucial because we tend to forget what’s located where, and how much something cost, when we get back to Singapore. And then when you want to upload a post about your awesome holiday in Korea or Taiwan, you feel upset that you cannot remember how to get to that amazing food outlet, or how much the airport bus cost. And that blogpost may not materialize because of that drop in motivation thereafter.

Also, you won’t want to give yourself ‘homework’ after your holiday, would you? Instead of posting about that holiday MONTHS after you got back, why not just hit ‘publish’ while you’re still overseas. After all, you and I both know that a deluge of emails (and work) awaits you when you return, ya? 😉

This next testimonial is from Christine:

Sometimes, people have been blogging for years and yet very few people read their blogs. It could be due to something as simple as the titles. If you are savvy enough to use the right titles for your blogposts, you can get way more traffic than you are getting now. And this is especially crucial if you’re writing a post about your travels. And I do love encouraging people like Christine, who have a heart for sharing, to press on and reach a wider audience. Just a few, simple tweaks will do. Nothing major. And you don’t have to sit through an entire course.

This one’s from Mae-lee:

If you’re starting a website or a blog for the very first time, it can get extremely confusing, and in some cases, frustrating too. What’s a widget? Do I need a Jetpack? What’s the difference between a ‘widget’ and a ‘plug-in’? Why do I have to pay so much money for a theme?

*Fauzi’s one of my ex-students too. And I had him teach Mae-lee together with me. And yes, he got paid. What he actually told me via email was this: “Wah that would be the first time somebody pays me for my knowledge.. other than my job. Thanks for the opportunity”. Indeed, I love helping my students see a world of opportunity. Not too long after this session, Fauzi got himself featured on radio – 938LIVE – just like I have in the past. I think it is so cool that an employee can have a hobby outside of work and get himself featured on radio because of that hobby. I may have done it before, but I feel even more pride and satisfaction when my students get to experience this themselves. And I didn’t even have to arrange the session for him. He secured it on his own. This is in line with my teaching goals: to inspire leaders, and not to gain followers. And if my students end up “outshining” me and doing even better than I could have imagined, AWESOME! It makes me so happy!

Once in a while, I have people emailing me about workshop pricing and saying it’s out of their budget (it’s all less than 400 bucks, by the way), so I’ll tell them they can simply get a copy of my book at S$22 or better still, borrow a copy from the library for free. The book offers you a “snapshot” (so to speak) of a particular period of time in my blogging journey, back in 2013. But if you were to meet me in person now, you get to learn about all 6 years of my journey and the lessons I’ve distilled from these years. I do not actually think my classes are expensive. I’d say the fees are too low. Because that’s what most bloggers earn for doing just one advertorial (of course, there are bloggers who earn 5-figure sums for their advertorials #justsaying). There are other students like Victoria, who consider their “money very well spent”…

Victoria had wanted to attempt blogging (and make it work) on her own. After reading many books, even mine, she finally decided that it’s best to just meet up with me. I’m very proud of the book I wrote, and so far all the feedback has been 100% awesome. But where the book falls short is that it cannot evaluate YOUR blog and tell you what YOU are doing incorrectly. You need an actual human to tell you. In this case, Victoria picked me. And she’s also a student I am very proud of. Not too long after our coaching session, she got featured on radio, and she also became a TEDx speaker, sharing the stage with her teenage daughter who helps out in her planting and blogging adventures.

I don’t spoonfeed, I don’t handhold but I definitely help provide that fertile ground for my students to become more confident about themselves and what they are doing so they can go on to have adventures that they never dreamed was possible beforehand. 🙂 And I haven’t even spoken on a TEDx stage before! 😀 😀 😀

I do have a heart for young people, and their struggles, so when J (*name withheld to protect my young student’s privacy) emailed me, I offered her a special discount. Her (unedited) testimonial after the session:

I contacted Grace after finding her blog online and realised she was providing coaching lessons. I was at the time quite lost with my blog and the direction it was headed. I couldn’t quite seem to figure out SEO and how to get my blog noticed. As I’m still a student and couldn’t afford the normal workshop fee, she kindly offered a personal 1-1 1hr coaching session at a student discount.

When I met her she was really warm and friendly. She helped me to conceptualise my blog scheme and how I should progress from here on. On the technical end, she also gave me great tips to help my SEO and organise my blog better. Really looking forward to the growth of my blog from here on and am thankful I have someone I can look for for help in this area 🙂

I think that to be able to teach is truly a privilege. Of course, it doesn’t mean I would teach for free (unless it’s for charity, which I’ve done before). But I love being able to see people grow, blossom and take flight. I guess it’s like parenting without actually having to give birth to a baby! 😀

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Find out more about my blogging workshops here. Feel free to drop me an email and tell me more about your blog and/or blogging objectives before you sign up too. 🙂

Let’s just say that 2016 has gotten off to a really good start for me. 🙂 The start and end of each year is usually VERY quiet, blogging-wise. I usually take off for the holidays and so do many other people. But I guess it’s true that when you do good, you do well. In Dec/Jan, I went for more volunteer trips, and also put in more effort in blogging about my adventures, and the stats are very encouraging. I don’t usually get 6-figures (not $$$, but traffic) but in January 2016, this blog received 134,457 hits! I did not make the news, got no media attention whatsoever, but with good ol’ hard work and grit, I’m pretty pleased with the results.

And best of all, I’ve had the opportunity to continue coaching and teaching interested individuals regarding the art of Blogging, and sharing with them my passion for writing and meeting inspiring individuals. 🙂

Here’s Fauzi, who met me for one coaching session, and whom I’ve kept in touch with ever since. He says that it was “time and money well spent” and I think that’s the highest compliment I can receive as a blog coach. And note how he mentioned time first. Time, to me, is more important that money, because you can lose (and earn back) money, but there’s no retrieving time.

And the coaching never stops after the class. I do still catch up with Fauzi and find out how he’s progressing. I even took time off to help him out (as his “assistant”) during an interview with Josephus Tan, a lawyer, and also to meet Chew Chor Meng, whom Fauzi wants to interview for his podcast series on people who ‘bounce back’ after encountering obstacles and ‘failure’.

I don’t charge thousands of dollars for any of my classes and coaching sessions, but my aim is to deliver thousands of dollars in value to my students, whom I consider my friends too. But let me be clear that not every one of them will automatically become a friend of mine if we have a clash in values. For instance, I value punctuality. So people who turn up late for my classes are blacklisted for eternity. Likewise, I value hard work and creativity, so people who just want me to constantly spoonfeed them with my ideas, instead of bothering to come up with their own (preferring to watch TV and eat ice cream instead), will never become close friends of mine. If you’re a decent person who is willing to work hard, loves to write and share ideas, and wants to learn more about Blogging, then do get in touch with me: https://workingwithgrace.wordpress.com/blogging-workshops/

And now a shameless plug for Fauzi’s upcoming podcast launch: On 28th March, which happens to be next month, Fauzi will be launching a series of podcast interviews he has done with very inspiring individuals. I sat in for the one with lawyer, Josephus Tan, so I know that the quality of Fauzi’s podcasts is really good. I’m definitely looking forward to the 28th of March, and I’d recommend you to mark your calendars too. In the meantime, do check out Fauzi’s blog at http://reboundstronger.com/ 🙂

It’s a “special” day today since it’s 12.12. 😀 Spent a good portion of the day at SIM (again) conducting a book talk. Haven’t received the pictures from today’s session so it’ll have to wait. 🙂

But I’m truly thankful for the awesome participants I had the privilege of meeting today. It was a rather interactive session and I got to share some of my latest insights regarding Blogging and the blogosphere. A lot of it was also about the life lessons I’ve garnered this year, really.

One of them involves ego, and my ‘baby’ – my book ‘Blogging For A Living’. I used to get so upset when morons would criticize my book without even reading it first, uttering such dumb statements as “Any idiot with money can publish a book”.

I’ve recently read ‘Big Magic’ by one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Gilbert, and she wrote something truly awesome within its pages:

To a certain ignoramus: please go write and publish your own *ahem* book before you slam mine. So many people happen to love Blogging For A Living. So there. 😛

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If you’d like to purchase an autographed copy of Blogging For A Living, simply email me at [ gracewwg at gmail dot com ]. It costs just S$22, with no GST. I’ll autograph a copy and mail it to you! 🙂

I concluded the final ‘Intermediate’ workshop for this quarter today. There’s still a ‘Beginners’ workshop happening next week – 14th March 3pm to 5pm. Click HERE for more details. 😀 I don’t have workshops planned for April yet as it seems to be a busy month, with a speaking engagement overseas. And I’m also planning for blogging workshops in Malaysia – since my book ‘Blogging For A Living’ is being sold there, why not ya? 😉

Today’s session was too much fun… such that one student (Monica) gave me feedback that she wishes the session was longer. 😀 By the way, it was all of 2 hours plus a bit more already.

I also enjoy having my ex-students come back for a ‘refresher’ too, as blogging in a group is generally a lot more fun than blogging alone. Also, if you’ve lost the momentum for blogging, it’s always good to attend a ‘refresher’ and get back into the groove.

We had a short discussion about ‘Writer’s Block’ today and I’d like to share with you some of the tips which came out of this session:

1) Commitment – Decide once and for all that you are going to blog for ‘x’ times a week and STICK to it. When I first started this blog, my commitment (to everyone, but most importantly, to myself) was that a new post would be uploaded every Friday at 5am. It really helps when you commit to blogging, like you commit to bathing or brushing your teeth. There is no room for negotiation – it just HAS to be done.

2) Accountability Partner – Have someone hold you accountable for the number of posts you say you will do. I am the Accountability Partner for some of my students, i.e. I will kick their ass and nag them to death if they don’t do what they say they will do. 😀 Of course, I don’t offer my ‘services’ to everyone because I do pick the people I want to mentor. #brutalfactoflife

3) Schedule Posts – When you are super inspired, craft as many blogposts as you can, and schedule them for uploading, say, every two days. Thus, it might seem that you are very consistent in uploading blogposts when actually you did it all when inspired. Smart, eh? 😉

Apart from countering writer’s block, we also discussed Blog Monetization, did a little activity (hehe!) and engaged in some healthy blog critique.

We probably had so much fun that Time just flew past, but 2 hours is really all I can spare without tiring myself out. Contrary to popular belief, I am actually introverted. Spending time with people drains me of energy. Spending time alone, with a book or what not, helps me recharge. So you get the best of me in 2 hours. 😀

To join me for my next workshop, simply do a bank transfer of S$275 to posb savings 126-85658-0 and drop me an email at gracewwg [at] gmail [dot] com. More details HERE.

Over the past two weeks, I had the privilege of coaching 2 beautiful bloggers – Natasha and Elin (aka Selfie Queen). Natasha is a mommy blogger who has been blogging for over 6 years – even longer than I have! Elin is a property agent with a fierce love for writing, meeting people and living life on the edge. Both of them signed up for personal coaching with me, and I have to say that yes, I enjoy personal coaching a bit more as it allows me to get to know each of my students a little bit better!

I love working with women because we have a unique set of issues with regard to blogging, and the way we learn, communicate and experience life is very different from the men. And of course, there are advantages to coaching men too. But first, here are 4 differences I’ve noticed regarding coaching men vs. coaching women:

1) Men like to tell you what they know while women like to tell you how they feel

Male bloggers or gentlemen who wish to learn how to blog are usually happy to share with me about the places they have been to, the number of languages they know, what they have accomplished in their careers, how they think blogging will help their businesses, etc.

My now-famous 67 year old student loves to tell the new people he meets that he worked for SIA previously. I don’t have female students who are as enthusiastic about sharing with new friends where they were previously employed in. Most of the ladies are more eager about sharing about family, especially about the little ones at home.

Women are also more inclined to share about how writing and blogging helps them de-stress, involve them in a community of fellow female bloggers, and how their frequency of posting blogposts is directly linked to their moods. And it is actually true; if I am in a good mood, I can write 5 blogposts in one sitting. If I am in a sour mood… ok, let’s not go there.

It is also true that women struggle with finding the right balance when blogging – “Should I tell my readers how I REALLY feel about today, or should I try to sound positive?” Men have never asked me how much I think they should share (or not share).

And I guess women end up deleting blogposts more often than men do. 😉

-> What to do if you blog based on your moods: Learn to schedule your blogposts. Write as much as you can when you’re in the zone, feeling inspired, and the creative juices are flowing. Then schedule the posts instead of uploading everything at one go. You can even keep some posts as drafts (and your backups) and upload them on days when you are just not inspired to write.

2) Older men are more likely to be punctual while pretty women are more likely to show up late

No, I’m not kidding.

I have noticed that the OLDER the coachee, the more punctual he/she will be. I show up for all my coaching sessions and blogging workshops early. And usually, the older gentlemen will reach around the same time that I do. So I always get myself to the venue at least 15 to 30 minutes ahead of time, especially when I know that I will be coaching someone twice my age.

The younger the female, and the prettier she is, the more likely it is that she will turn up late. It is a given. I once had a model show up for my workshop just in time for us to wrap up. Her excuses of waking up late and all just didn’t register in my brain as I looked at her well-made-up face and I knew she would have been punctual if she had used less makeup and cared about respecting me just a tad more.

Having said that, I do still give them their money’s worth with some extra time. Even if someone is being disrespectful of my time, I do take pride in my work, and cannot have people leave my class saying they learnt nothing.

I used to have one such pretty friend in my junior college days, who once said something along the lines of “Sorry, I’m late, but I’m always worth the wait, no?” Sorry, you’re not sorry. And neither am I that you are not worth the wait, really. We are no longer friends, thankfully. Phew.

-> What to do if you have an issue with punctuality: Decide once and for all that if you are going to sign up for something, that you’ll be there on time. If it is not an event you are terribly interested in, then don’t sign up for it. Set out early, so that even traffic accidents and train breakdowns will not derail your plans to be on time. If you are habitually late, perhaps serve yourself a penalty e.g. buy everyone lunch or a round of drinks – something that will make you ‘feel the pinch’. If you work better with rewards, give yourself a treat (a macaron, your favorite magazine, etc) if you manage to show up on time, or even better, early!

3) Women care more about what other people think

Women care too much, and it sometimes stops them from blogging altogether. If they blog about a friend, and said friend reads the blogpost and is upset, the blogger might just stop blogging altogether, or put together blogposts that are just plain boring and unlikely to make anyone else upset, or interest anyone.

I don’t usually have this issue. I just don’t name the people I blog about. If they happen to identify themselves in my blogposts and are offended, then so be it.

-> What to do if you are constantly afraid of offending people: Understand that you cannot please everyone. And even people you are trying to please may not like you anyway. Live with it. Know what you are blogging for, and who you are blogging for. Don’t blog for the people who hate you no matter what you do, and just write about what you want to get off your chest. Simple as that. Of course, know which things are out-of-bounds e.g. secrets you are supposed to keep, overly sensitive stuff, don’t name-and-shame (if you can help it), and don’t write if there is a possibility of you getting into legal trouble because of your blogposts.

4) Women have to talk about their experiences first before getting down to business

When I coach women, the session usually goes ‘overtime’. Simply because we cannot get down to business till we have gotten certain things out of the way. For instance, a female blogger might need to tell me why EXACTLY she is having trouble uploading blogposts on a consistent basis – maybe even telling me her daily schedule. Some need to explain about how the horrid, horrid traffic (and rain, or accidents) caused them to be late. Some need to gush about how I seem to have achieved so much at a young age (and of course, I have to remind them that others have achieved a lot more at an even younger age).

With men, it is much more efficient. Just a quick introduction – what he does for work, and why he’s starting a blog. And BAM… we go straight into ‘workshop mode’.

Women need to FEEL like they can trust you, and that they like you, and that you ‘GET’ them, before they can dive into ‘learning mode’. (At least that’s my take on things)

And you need to be a really good listener… an emphatic one. Both men and women like to talk. Perhaps men like to brag a little more than most women do. But women have a greater need to feel like someone’s actually listening to them speak. Listening, not plain hearing the sounds coming out from their mouths. 😉

-> What to do if you have trouble getting into ‘learning mode’ quickly: Process those thoughts and feelings on the way to the workshop, NOT at the workshop. No matter what horrible stuff happened to you (bird poo-ed on your head, your car stalled in the middle of the expressway, your dress got caught in the escalator, etc), be present, confident and calm. You can tell everyone at home about the disasters that happened before class WHEN YOU GET HOME. Seize every minute to learn as much as you can. Suspend all negative thoughts about how horrid your day has been and just learn as much as you possibly can, because you paid for this session. 😉

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Click on the image below to check out my blogging workshop schedule or email me at gracewwg AT gmail DOT com to arrange for a personal coaching session! 😀

I was not paid to go on these ‘sushi dates’ but I’m really thankful that Blogging has allowed me to have these once-in-a-lifetime experiences. To the people who wonder why I quit my S$114,000 job to become a blogger, I have to ask why not? 😀

There has been quite a bit of sushi-making lately. A fair amount of salmon sashimi involved too. So, in short, life’s been good! 😀 Not too long ago, I flew to Indonesia to learn how to make sushi from an Indonesian chef (read that blogpost here) and today, I made Panda Maki at Maki-San, upon FoodPanda’s invitation. Do you like sushi too? Well then, read on…

Here’s the video of me making sushi and winning the friendly competition previously… in Jakarta:

And today, I was at Maki-San at The Cathay, with my blogging students (Steven and Kirbie), and a number of other bloggers as well.

*Sidenote: I find it disgusting how some bloggers are perpetually late for ALL events. If you are gonna be late, and miss the chef’s demo, then you might as well not turn up, ya? And showing up late and having the PR folks scramble to find you a seat, and causing inconvenience to other bloggers who turned up on time because they have to make some space for you at their tables when they have already started making their panda maki? What a nuisance!

But what I loved most has to be going behind the counter at Maki-San and personally customizing my own maki roll. Cue lots and lots of salmon sashimi:

I picked unagi, salmon sashimi, cheese, tuna, tamago and asparagus. Topped it off with Japanese mayo sauce. Probably the best sushi I’ll eat in 2015. 😀

Maki-San has a machine which dispenses the rice laid out neat and flat, IN SECONDS! Just slap on the seaweed and you are ready to add the other ingredients. And when you’ve rolled it all up, there is another machine which cuts the maki roll neatly and efficiently. Two thumbs up for the use of technology at Maki-San. I have to say that those machines are worth every pretty penny (or twenty thousand) paid.

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I most certainly had fun today, though I very nearly didn’t turn up for this event. I got so many emails and one phone call regarding RSVP-ing for this event that I was wondering if the turnout was going to be poor, so the PR had to ensure every single blogger showed up. In any case, I had invited my blogging students to join me for this event so I had to go, despite not liking the need to rsvp MULTIPLE times. Registration did not happen at the stated time (in the email) and the event itself did not start on time either. So… ask us to come so early for what?!

*ahem*

I had my students join me as firstly, I thought they might enjoy this maki-making experience, and two, because I know that newbie bloggers don’t often get the attention of PR agencies and don’t get the invites that more established bloggers receive.

So I’m doing for them what I wish I had in the past, when I had just started out on my blogging journey.

Same reason why I wrote my book ‘Blogging For A Living’ and why I conduct Blogging Workshops. These are all what I WISH I had back then.

To join me at my next blogging workshop, click here:

*Update: From 1st to 31st March 2015, order from these participating restaurants (Maki-san, Fleeaway cafe, Big Bern’s, The Soup Spoon, Nara Thai Cuisine, La Nonna, Outback Steakhouse and Yoshinoya) via Foodpanda’s website or app, and S$1 from every order will go to the Children’s Cancer Foundation. Use code ‘MEALSHEAL15’ upon checkout. **Remember: this happens only in March, NOT this month. And S$1 is a small sum but… do your part for charity. 😉

Totally skipped the Monday blues yesterday. 😀 On top of mailing out yet another autographed copy of my book to a Malaysian buyer from Selangor, I received an email from someone in Penang asking if I conduct blogging workshops overseas, and a reader from Sabah writing in to tell me he bought my book from a Popular bookstore in Sabah! Amazing!

If you’d like to get an autographed copy of ‘Blogging For A Living’, simply drop me an email. 🙂 I’m absorbing the postage charges for all book buyers from Malaysia. You’ll pay the same price of S$22. Get in touch with me via email (gracewwg AT gmail DOT com) and I’ll advise you on the payment procedure.

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Last Sunday, I had a personal coaching session for Khan, whom I got to know via BNI. Here’s his handwritten testimonial after the session:

Khan is in his 60s but he is not my oldest student. That title is still Steven Lek’s! [Steven blogs at retiredowhat.com and was last year’s Top 10 Finalist (Individual) at the Singapore Blog Awards 2014!]

Coaching someone who is more than twice my age can be challenging at times but I love a good challenge. For adult learners above the age of 55, here are some tips:

1) Come prepared with a written list of questions, then tick them off one by one as you get them answered. Remember to take notes!

2) Ask, clarify, and don’t be shy about asking again.

3) If something is too confusing or too technical or just too hard to remember, ask if you can get a video of the instructor teaching. This is what I have volunteered to do for both Khan and Steven. I know it is very helpful for them. Most phones have video-recording capabilities so make full use of them!

There is no shame in learning something new from someone younger than you. After all, 活到老学到老.

For all who prefer individual attention, instead of learning in a group in my blogging workshops, you may drop me a note here to arrange for a personal coaching session:

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And now, to answer YOUR question if you are wondering what gives me the RIGHT / AUTHORITY to conduct blogging workshops…

Just the truth and solid proof:

Simon received his award from Minister of State (MOE and MCI), Ms Sim Ann:

I am not a self-proclaimed best blogger in Asia Pacific, don’t have pineapple stickers on my car, and neither have I been in a tyre commercial. What matters to me is that what I know, I can teach, and also replicate that success for my students. If I can teach a 67 year old to blog, I’m quite sure I can teach you. If my students can win accolades at the Singapore Blog Awards (organized by SPH, and not awards given to us by companies we have 5% shares in), I think I’m pretty good at coaching.

If I am all talk and no action, you can say it’s all fluff and bullsh*t, but here I present to you only solid PROOF. 🙂 Of course, if you are not into chasing awards and accolades, and just want to have fun blogging, that’s fine too, you’re welcome to join any of my workshops.

I’ve never really addressed this issue of why I conduct blogging workshops and coaching sessions. Perhaps not even in my book ‘Blogging For A Living’.

In the image above, you see a testimonial written by my coachee for today, Angel Lim, a financial adviser from the firm Zurich.

She is many years my senior (but doesn’t look a day older than me) and is an MDRT qualifier in her field of work.

I am constantly impressed by the people who pay good money to attend my workshops. My workshops are not ‘bloody expensive’ but neither are they ‘dirt cheap’ because I really value my time.

Back to the workshops. I conduct them because they were what I DESIRED when I first started out blogging. And ESPECIALLY when I decided to blog for a living.

If people like Xiaxue held seminars at that time to teach me how to make my blog a success, I would have paid upwards of S$2,000, at the very least.

I didn’t get that luxury of learning from amazing bloggers, so I had to pick up everything the hard way, through trial and error. And oh, I did make some horrendous mistakes. Ha!

So my workshops really help people get started. You really cannot come up with excuses during the workshop. Angel had to put together her blog and ‘About’ page today while I watched like a hawk. Her excuse of having no photos in her new laptop did not sit well with me. I told her to just log into facebook and retrieve a photo. So she did. Her old blog had not a single photo of her – actually, not a single photo of anything.

The session was supposed to be for 2 hours, but it stretched till about 15 minutes more. And even then, she felt she wanted more. 😀 But sorry, I’m actually intraverted – though I’m good with people, I actually prefer to be alone. I love to coach and train groups, but it really drains my energy. So 2 hours is just nice for me.

What Angel got out of this session was a blog she could start working on immediately. We got her ‘About’ page together, her niche figured out, she learnt how to monetize the blog with ads and the part about generating traffic nailed. Plus, I also gave her a roadmap of what sort of blogposts she should be uploading next. She’ll likely not run out of ideas for the next 3 months at least.

Also, I linked her up with my publisher, illustrator friend, and photographer pal, and she is well on her way to publishing her first book. (Though she has the manuscript sitting on the backburner for God-knows-how-long already)

I see my job as helping people get onto the right track and setting those wheels in motion. Yes, they will have to keep those wheels turning and stay focused and motivated. But in any case, I am just an email or Whatsapp message away.

If you want to know the real reason for why I conduct workshops… yes, the money is good, but I am really doing for people now what I wish I had in the past.

And yes, if you are the sort who loves to procrastinate, you should definitely come and meet me. I’ll kick your ass, and you’ll still thank me for it after. 😀